Man Charged With Stealing Casper Hockey Team’s Bus

A Casper man has been charged with stealing and severely damaging the bus belonging to the Casper Bobcats junior hockey team Monday night, according to an affidavit filed in Natrona County Circuit Court,

Angelo Steven Reynolds, 22, was arrested after bragging about stealing the $250,000 tour-style bus from the 300 block of North Lowell Street, according to the affidavit written by a Natrona County Sheriff's deputy.

Reynolds is charged with felony theft, and property defacement and destruction. Conviction of each count is punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment.

The case about 4 p.m. Tuesday when the owner of the Bobcats notified the Sheriff's Office about the stolen bus, which was found earlier to have slid off U.S. Highway 20-26 (the Old Glenrock Highway). The driver apparently tried to get it on the road, but damaged the rear tires and buried the bus deeper into the snow.

The Wyoming Highway Patrol first found it and tagged it as an abandoned vehicle because it had not known was stolen.

Meanwhile, the deputy was contacted about a possible suspect, Reynolds, who was the subject of an assault call. Reynolds had bragged and showed photos to his mother and a friend about stealing a bus, according to the affidavit.

The deputy interviewed an employee of the Bobcats' owner, who said there were only three keys to unlock the bus -- the employee had one, a second key was in the bus and third was in possession of the team's equipment manager.

The bus did not have an ignition key; the only way to start it was to press an unmarked sequence of three buttons.

The sheriff's deputy's affidavit does not indicate how Reynolds would have known how to start the bus, nor how he was able to get from the area of the abandoned bus to his residence.

The employee said the bus was leased, and its owner determined the Global Positioning System indicated the bus was started about 11:30 Monday near East Yellowstone Highway just west of Beverly Street and then turned off at 12:20 a.m. Tuesday.

The deputy examined the bus, found the rear driver's side tires were highly worn, and took trace prints of shoe treads inside the bus.

The deputy went to the Natrona County jail, found Reynolds' shoes and saw the tread prints appeared to match.

The man allegedly assaulted by Reynolds told the deputy that the two were at a residence on North Park Street having drinks with friends, they left, and he later saw Reynolds at his apartment complex. There, Reynolds told the man about stealing a bus, but the man didn't believe it.

The deputy interviewed Reynolds' brother who was trying to fall asleep but overheard Reynolds telling their mother about stealing the bus "'as if it wasn't a big deal,'" according to the affidavit. The brother said Reynolds was known for telling tall tales and wasn't convinced until he saw photos of the bus.

Reynolds' mother said he was diagnosed with a disease after an assault and hasn't been the same since.